ISLANDS AND CHANNELS: THE WEST COAST WORK OF H.G. GLYDE

ISLANDS AND CHANNELS: THE WEST COAST WORK OF H.G. GLYDE

Masters Gallery Vancouver is pleased to be hosting an exhibition and sale of H.G. Glyde’s West Coast work from November 17th until December 1st.

Masters Gallery has had a long-established rapport with the work of Henry George Glyde. This started with Peter Ohler Sr. in Vancouver in the 1960s, and carried forward at Masters Gallery Calgary into the 1990s and onwards. In April of 2010, Masters Gallery Calgary held an exhibition and sale that celebrated the artist’s life.

A number of years after Peter Ohler Sr.’s first encounter with H.G. Glyde on Pender Island, he reflected back on his experience meeting H.G. Glyde at his Gulf Island residence in an enlightening article for Golden West magazine’s 1977 fall issue. The article is an excellent means for understanding the context in which the works featured in the exhibition Islands and Channels were conceived:

Ohler remarked that upon arriving by ferry to quiet and peaceful Pender Island, he thought, “what a perfect environment for an artist.” He had been trying to locate the artist for ages, but had been searching in Alberta. It was not until some collector’s of Glyde’s work kindly pointed him in the right direction, did Ohler realize that Glyde was no longer in Alberta, but rather could be found in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia.

In the article, Ohler gives a descriptive account of his visit and interaction with Mr. and Mrs. Glyde, and gives a telling description of the Glyde property and the artist’s studio. Giving insight into Glyde’s artistic inspiration on the West Coast. The following is an extract from the Golden West article:

Behind the lovely, rustic house was Glyde’s studio. Nestled in the tall trees fulfilling all and every romantic concept of what an artist’s studio should look like. And down the path, with what I’ve now come to know as the perpetual pipe in his mouth, came H.G. Glyde. At 67 years of age he looked more 50. Relaxed. Confident in his walk and life in his eyes and smile that radiated strength and assurance. His handshake too was firm and yet gentle. I relaxed immediately as I sensed here was a man with no pretension and who expected no homage.

As we sat down to tea and biscuits and talk, I noticed over Glyde’s shoulder a very strong painting by A.Y. Jackson. Glyde said that Jackson had given him the painting after they had worked together on a National Gallery commission in 1943 making studies of the Alaska Highway. I listened to Glyde relate his experiences and relationships with many of Canada’s truly great artists. Mrs. Glyde often added a detail here and took one out there and I enjoyed the stories and atmosphere to the fullest.

Time to go came far to quickly, but the ferry was due soon on its last visit of the day. Glyde and I walked up the path to his studio. The sun illuminated patches of fern and under-growth through the trees. Inside the orderly studio Glyde showed me a few things he had just completed. He gathered up some sketches, mostly figure studies, which he seemed particularly fond of. His recent oils of the Gulf Islands and Interior of B.C. showed a masterful sense of composition and draughtsmanship. His warm colours and rhythmic lines pleased me a great deal…